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Friday, October 19, 2012

City of Chicago to Tax Bullets to Stop Shootings

Foreigners are often a little scared of coming to America because they know that virtually anyone can buy a gun.

This right is protected by the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution. Basically, at the time the Constitution was written (1789), America was still an agricultural country and individual families often had to protect themselves. Guns were felt to be necessary for each individual to protect his home and his family. Although most Americans now live in towns and cities, the 2nd Amendment has never been repealed largely because many Americans still like the idea of having the right to defend themselves.

In Chicago, the murder rate from shootings has been unusually high lately. In order to try to stop the number of killings, a politician is proposing a tax on bullets.

1) Do you agree with the Americans who feel that the right to own a gun should be protected?

2) Do you think that a 5 cent tax on bullets will help to decrease the number of shootings?

3) The politician is also proposing that the tax will help to generate money which can help victims of shootings. What do you think of this idea?

4) Given the fact that the City of Chicago cannot prevent people from buying and owning guns, what do you think should be done to reduce the murder rate?

5) Chicago is a very racially "segregated" city. Generally white people live on the north side and black people live on the south side. Most of the shootings are occurring on the south side, in poor neighborhoods dominated by street gangs. Given this information, what should the City of Chicago do?